My 2001 Subaru, which I had only purchased from Beaverton KIA a month earlier, was sluggish and the check engine light came on. The dealerships service station ran a diagnostic and determined that I needed to have the 4 spark plugs replaced along with a new set of wires. They charged me $99 just to run the diagnostic. The service center then quoted me $460 to replace the 4 plugs and the set of wires, plus the $99 diagnostic charge. They told me the parts were around $100 and that labor was calculated at 3.8 hours at $99/hours. 3.8 HOURS!!! It takes a novice mechanic all of 30 minutes to unscrew and replace 4 spark plugs and a set of wires, but I was told that they are "just going by what the book tells them." The "Service Consultant" admitted that they would get it done a lot quicker, but that he couldn't do anything about the charges. He had to "stick with what the book says." I then called the dealership. Moments later the service dpt called backed and told me they could do the work for $310 (including the diagnostic).
I went to NAPA and bought premium parts myself for $73 and found a reputable service station in Aloha to install them for me at a cost of $37.50. It took the mechanic less the 30 minutes. $110.50 all told and Bob Lamphere wanted to charge me $560. I did have to also pay Bob Lamphere's service center the $99 for "diagnosing" the problem. I feel strongly that I was being taken advantage of and insulted by the original $560 quote.
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